


what happens in the after

by SkylandMountain1013



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Nothing Hurts, Post season 5 speculation, Tooth Rotting Fluff, everyone is happy, nothing but fluff, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-17
Updated: 2018-04-17
Packaged: 2019-04-24 09:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14352576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SkylandMountain1013/pseuds/SkylandMountain1013
Summary: In the end, saving the future doesn’t turn out to be as hard as they think. A decision, a tweak, a shift in a different direction and things just.. go back to the way they were.





	what happens in the after

**Author's Note:**

> So this just kind of fell out of my brain. Maybe it’s self preservation after all the hurt and angst that’s been going on. 
> 
> Enjoy.

In the end, saving the future doesn’t turn out to be as hard as they think. A decision, a tweak, a shift in a different direction and things just.. go back to the way they were. 

Phil Coulson manages to get saved as well- with some new mechanics and an inhaler he’ll be dependent on for the rest of his life- but otherwise he’s good as new. 

And he’s not the Director anymore and there’s probably not a SHIELD anymore, but everyone still listens to him so the first thing he does when it’s all over is orders everyone to take two weeks off. 

“Seriously,” he says, “this was weird. Even for us.”

So they scatter. Fitz and Simmons go to take an actual honeymoon, Mack and Elena head to make amends, and Daisy makes a comment about wanting nothing but a beach, a towel, and more alcohol than she can probably handle. 

As for Melinda, she watches the team depart and wordlessly throws her bag in the back of Phil’s car. (They invite Daisy to join them- her wrinkled nose and groan of disgust gives them their answer.)

They drive until they reach a small cabin on a lake, it’s not fancy- but honestly it’s all they need. 

It’ll give them a chance to just exist. 

——-

The early summer breeze calls him outside most evenings, on the porch with a book or near the water, legs dangling off the side of the dock. 

The dock is where he is tonight, arms braced behind him, head tilted upwards to the last warmth of the sun. 

He feels Melinda approach before he hears her. It makes the hair on his arms stand straight up. He hopes he never loses that sensation. 

“Hey,” she says simply, sliding down next to him. 

He tilts his head back down towards her and smiles. The time off has been good to both of them. 

“I grabbed some beer from the market- something local. Better than the crap we’ve been drinking.” She hands him a bottle and he takes a glance at the label. 

“Zombie Dust,” he reads amusedly. 

She takes a long drink and he can see her lips curl into a smile around the mouth of the bottle. “I figured I’m already sleeping with the undead. So why not?”

He shakes his head and laughs. “You’ve died too, yknow,” he counters, nudging her knee with his. “So technically I could say the same.”

“You’re ahead of me though,” she hums through another long sip. 

“Well,” he says, emphasizing his words with jabs to her shoulder, “you’re expressly forbidden from catching up to me.”

Melinda intercepts his fingers and gives them the faintest of kisses before intertwining her hand with his. 

“How are you feeling?” Her voice has lost it’s playful tone, but is still soft and affectionate. 

It’s his turn to take a drink, savoring the cool liquid as he forms an answer. He thinks of the metal plate in his chest protecting him, the wires in his arm that let him feel, and the plastic in his pocket that keeps his lungs from seizing. 

It’s possible he’s turning into the Tin Man. 

There’s no question he has a heart though- he’s felt it bleed and break and stop in the past, and now he knows how it feels to have to belong entirely to someone else. 

“Peaceful,” he replies. 

His reward is a brilliant smile as Melinda shifts perpendicular to him, stretching out with her head against his thigh. 

He immediately starts carding his hand through her hair, her eyes fluttering shut at the contact. 

The silence surrounds them for a moment- nothing but the rustling leaves and the faint chirp of cicadas. 

“I could get used to this,” he muses. 

Melinda hums in agreement. 

“We should stay here forever.” He lazily traces patterns over the fabric of her shirt. 

She pops one eye open. “You’d get bored.”

“Nah. It would be nice. Think about it: sunsets over the water, fires in the winter, sex whenever we wanted.” 

“I give it a month before I’d be scraping you off the ceiling.” 

He huffs. “Fine.”

The sun has dipped behind the horizon and when he tips his head to the sky again, he’s met with starlight. 

“It wasn’t so bad up there,” he starts. “Being out amongst the stars, being able to contemplate our place in the universe? Maybe it was a bit romantic.” 

“Really?” He can feel her eyebrow arch. 

“No,” he sighs. “It was pretty fucking awful.”

Her laughter rings out, bouncing off the trees. 

He shrugs. “Nice sentiment though.”

Melinda pulls herself up and catches his lips with hers. “Yeah,” she whispers. 

He feels his soul smile.


End file.
